Advent Calendar
by slashatelier
Summary: A series of 24 AtobeRyoma drabbles, written for Christmas 2006.
1. Secret Santa

I know these are a little off-season, being Christmas related, but I had meant to post them a long time ago. I wrote these from December 1st to December 24th, as a little Atobe/Ryoma advent calender, of sorts. Hope you enjoy them, despite their being posted in the middle of summer - though truthfully it's a lot more like winter here at the moment.

* * *

Ryoma had barely any time to react when Momoshiro had come up behind him, just as he'd been closing the clubroom for the night, and swiped his hat straight off his head. It hadn't been his usual Fila one, but rather a woollen one his Grandmother had knit for him. He didn't particularly like it, but it kept him warm all the same. Some of the freshmen in the club had thought it was cute - he'd made them run laps, and shoved the hat in his bag.

"Momo-senpai, give me my hat back," Ryoma said, his 'captain authority' tone still in place after practice. Momoshiro had either just completely ignored it, or had missed it entirely.

Momoshiro grinned at him - looking ridiculously goofy, Ryoma had to admit - and waved his hat in the air. "I can't do that, Echizen. I can't." He ruffled Ryoma's hair, and Ryoma attempted to swat his hand away. Momoshiro just laughed. "Fancy a match on the street courts, before it ices over?"

Ryoma gave him a look that made other people feel like idiots, but Momoshiro must have been immune to it, having seen it so many times. "It's freezing, stupid." He tugged at his scarf with gloved hands, just to emphasise his point. "My hat. Now." He held out his hand.

"I'm going to keep it." Momoshiro tucked the hat into his bag with a grin on his face, that was more devious this time than goofy. "You can follow me to the street courts if you want it back, or you can walk home. But your ears will be very cold."

Devious little bastard, Ryoma thought, as he shoved his hands in his coat pockets, trudging along behind Momoshiro. He'd just get to the street courts, get his hat back and then leave. Simple as. He loved tennis as much as the next person, but not when he was going to turn into an ice-cube.

They walked in silence. Momoshiro had forgone his bike once the ground had started to get a bit slippery - he hadn't last year, and had ended up in the emergency room with a broken arm. Ryoma had found the whole thing kind of funny, until Kaidoh made him run laps for being an insufferable brat. Ryoma knew he hadn't meant it, he only wanted him out of the changing rooms so that he could shout at Momoshiro for being careless.

The streets courts were practically deserted when they arrived. Practically, because on a second look around he could see people sitting on stands. He squinted and recognised the person on the first step, An Tachibana. Devious little bastard indeed, he'd done the same thing that he'd done before. "If you wanted a date with Tachibana's sister, then don't involve me, idiot."

"D-date?" Momoshiro said, turning away from waving at An. He couldn't be more obvious if he tried. "This isn't a-"

"That's what you said last time too. And the time at the arcade. Oh, and how about when-"

"All right, all right. You don't need to make a list." Momoshiro had flushed a very unflattering red colour, that Ryoma didn't think had anything to do with the cold.

When they walked closer to the stands - beckoned over by An to sit, which Momoshiro had no hesitation with doing. Ryoma knew now that he'd never had any intention of playing tennis with him - Ryoma looked over his shoulder and saw two of Fudomine's players standing by the vending machine. On closer inspection he saw Yuuta from St. Rudolph, and Fuji sitting and smiling at him. Then a little higher up...

"Ah, perhaps things will get a little interesting now."

Of all the people that could have been here. Of all the people. "Monkey King, what are you doing here?"

Atobe wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Must you call me such a vile name, Echizen?"

"Yes. What are you doing here?" Ryoma had had his hat stolen, had not-so-physically been dragged to the street courts for some unknown purpose, and he was not happy. He was grumpy and irritable.

"Slumming it," Atobe returned without so much as missing a beat. "And yourself, Echizen? What are you doing here?" Atobe was patting the seat beside him, as if he expected Ryoma to go sit there.

Ryoma crossed his arms across his chest with a huff, and sat on the step in front of him. "Momo-senpai stole my hat."

Momoshiro let out a kind of indignant squawk. Ryoma didn't think it was a very flattering thing to do when you were trying to impress a girl. Then again, Momoshiro shoved burgers in his mouth as though he was inhaling them when An was around, so what did he know?

"I didn't steal it. More like borrowed it, just to give him an incentive. I had every intention of returning it." Momoshiro emphasised this point by pulling the hat out of his bag. Ryoma ignored the little snort of laughter behind him.

"Nice hat," Atobe said, and Ryoma could hear the smirk in his voice. The idiot.

"Can I have it back now?" Ryoma asked, wanting to get away as soon as possible. There wasn't going to be any tennis, that much was certain, so he really had no interest in sitting here and freezing.

"Sure, sure."

Momoshiro chucked the hat at him, and Ryoma fumbled it when he caught it in his hands. He wasted no time in shoving it onto his head, relishing in the instant warmth it gave him. His ears would no longer be frozen.

"How cute." Atobe sounded completely serious, which was a shock to Ryoma, though he just dismissed it as another way from him to annoy him.

He scowled and blushed a little bit, thankful that Atobe couldn't see because he had his back to him. "Shut up."

They were interrupted then by a cough, and when he actually paid attention to the rest of the group he could see that it had been Fuji who had done so. Ryoma was a little bit embarrassed at having been distracted completely by Atobe for a moment.

"Now then, how about we get what we need to do, done. It's rather cold," Fuji said, and he had that infuriating smile on his face that told people he was up to something. Which he almost always was.

Ryoma was suddenly very nervous. What had he been made to come here for? It wasn't tennis, so what did they have planned? He was almost certain that everyone here was in on it. He didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"Well," An said, a little too happy for Ryoma's liking, "Everyone knows the rules of Secret Santa, right?"

If it was possible to feel the blood drain from your face, Ryoma was certain that it had just happened. He almost got to his feet in alarm, but instead settled for saying, "What?!" in an exasperated voice. That's what they were up to. The sneaky little-

"Oh, didn't Momo tell you?" An was smiling far too sweetly to be innocent. Girls were nothing but trouble. "Well, your name is in the hat now, you don't mind, do you?"

Ryoma wanted to say that yes, he did mind, and also that he didn't want to be involved in some stupid game. He even opened his mouth to protest, but thought twice about it when he saw Fuji smiling at him, and shaking his head. "No. It's fine," he muttered. He was going to completely slaughter Momoshiro on court next time they played.

"Well, since there are no more objections," An said shaking the hat. "Who's first?"

The next few moments passed by too quickly for Ryoma. Everyone pulled a name from the hat, and they all smiled when they saw who they got. It wasn't fair, that meant they got people that they liked and knew. If Ryoma got Momoshiro's name from the hat, he knew exactly what he was going to get. His ass handed back to him in a tennis match.

"Echizen," Momoshiro called, halting his master plan for revenge. "Your go. Come on."

Ryoma got to his feet and sighed, walking down the stands to the front, where An stood - still shaking that god forsaken bag. He sighed and put his hand in it, taking out the first piece of paper that he touched. He stalked back to his seat, looking more irritable and moody than when he'd first arrived.

While Atobe walked down to the front to pick out his name - flicking his hair as he stood, and sauntering gracefully - Ryoma unfolded his piece of paper. He got more nervous as each fold was taken back, until...

"I can't do this!" Ryoma exclaimed, halting Atobe when he was about to pick out his paper. Everyone looked at him - and four of the people there had these all-knowing smiles on their faces. This was a set up.

"Did you pick your own name, Ryoma?" An asked, trying to sound as helpful as she could, but really she just sounded like she wanted to laugh.

Ryoma started to protest. "Well no, but-"

"Then you're stuck with whoever you got. Sorry."

Ryoma's stomach sunk. This was not good. Not good at all. That smirk on Atobe's face told him all that he needed to know, he'd planned this from the start. When Atobe sat back down, Ryoma took his hat off his head and chucked it at him - wanting to vent his anger in a more physical way. Then he stormed off. He didn't stop until he was a fair distance away from the street courts, and he looked at his paper again.

He was so doomed...


	2. Hats

To answer a quick question. These are 'drabbles' by definition as they are snippets of a longer story - not chapters, per se, as they would likely be longer, and have a stronger running plot-line. Myself and a few friends had a debate over what constituted as a drabble, and that was our final answer. So this will be a series of 24 linked drabble, with a sort of winter/Christmas theme. These are all pretty old too, so I'll be uploading them quickly.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish some of my longer one-shots soon. So look forward to them, I guess.

* * *

Ryoma didn't wake up to his alarm in the morning, nor to the soft pawing of Karupin, who usually tried to get his attention if he wasn't up before ten am. No, this Saturday Ryoma woke up to the incessant ringing of his mobile phone. It wasn't even eight am yet. Who in their right mind would be up so early on a cold, winters morning, when there was no school. Someone insane, Ryoma assumed.

He rolled over and grabbed his phone off his desk, not bothering to check who was calling on the ID - he wouldn't have been able to focus on it anyway, having just woken up.

"Whoever this is, it better be good," Ryoma said, his voice still laced with sleep, and sounding rather cranky.

There was a chuckle from the other end, then a long drawl that was unmistakable. "Ah, Echizen. You sound tired, did I wake you?"

"Yes, you asshole. What do you want?" Ryoma spared no pleasantries for him, as the weekend was the only time he could actually lie in. Being captain of Seigaku meant that he had to be in school extra early, something he hated because he'd never been good at waking up in the mornings.

"Now, now, be nice. In case you'd forgotten, I have your hat."

Ryoma had forgotten, if he was completely honest. He'd rushed home so quickly the day before that he hadn't remembered chucking his hat at Atobe in anger. Now he did though, and he wanted it back. "Are you holding it to ransom?"

Atobe actually laughed at that. "Don't be ridiculous, you can have it back." There was a long pause, and then he added. "As if I'd want to be in the presence of such a monstrosity any longer."

"Hilarious." Ryoma contemplated hanging up on him, turning over and going back to sleep. He doubted that Atobe would leave him alone though. He knew that this was annoying him, so he'd keep at it.

"Meet me in the town centre. Nine thirty. Don't be late." Atobe didn't even wait for confirmation before he cut off the line. Ryoma groaned at the sound of the dial tone and pulled the covers over his head.

Great.

---

A series of events followed that assured Ryoma that he would not be in the town centre for nine thirty.

Number one was that Ryoma had fallen back asleep. It wasn't his fault really. He'd been rudely awakened and had his sleeping pattern disrupted, it was only natural that his body demanded at least ten more minutes of glorious slumber. That, of course, made Ryoma re-awaken at about five to nine, and the following rush had him pulling on his shirt backwards. He corrected it once he realised - it would only give Atobe prime ammunition for taking the piss.

Number two were the buses. He'd missed the one at ten past nine, because his Mum had insisted that he at least had some toast before going out. He'd shoved it in his mouth whilst grabbing his coat, scarf and gloves from the cupboard and running out. There was nothing that made you curse more than having run all the way to the bus stop, only to see it driving away as you arrived.

Finally, there were the crowds. When Ryoma had got on the next bus at twenty past it was like being a sardine in a can. He got pressed against the other people none too gently, and stood on far too many times to count. The sheer amount of people on the bus meant that they stopped for longer to allow them to actually get off. It was all right for Atobe. He had his own personal chauffeur and limousine to ferry him god knows where.

The crowds, of course, didn't magically disappear once he got of the bus. He had to fight his way through hoards of people, getting trodden on every five seconds, and shoved just as often. He hated the Christmas rush, and it was only the second day of December.

Ryoma eventually found Atobe sitting on a bench, reading something, and wearing-

He was wearing his hat. Of all the nerve.

He walked over there and snatched the hat straight off his head. Atobe was startled and almost dropped his book. "Not funny," Ryoma said, using the hat to smack the back of Atobe's head.

"You're messing up my hair, brat. Stop it." Atobe composed himself pretty quickly, despite the shock, and brought his hands up to smooth down the hair that Ryoma had knocked out of place. When he was done Ryoma didn't think it looked any different.

He shrugged and sat down on the bench next to Atobe. "You did it yourself by putting my hat on."

"Well, you have to admit, I make that hat look good," Atobe said, smirking. Ryoma wasn't going to tell him so, but the hat had looked good on him. Maybe he could get him one for Christmas - though he doubted that Atobe would appreciate that as a present.

"You're so full of yourself, monkey king." Ryoma smirked in return, and leant back on the bench.

Atobe closed his book and placed it inside a bag that Ryoma hadn't noticed before. "That vile name again, Echizen? Aren't you ever going to tire of it?"

"Never."

"Anyway, you're late. It's past ten. I thought I said nine thirty." Atobe didn't sound angry at him being late, more... amused. He must have expected that Ryoma wouldn't turn up on time, why else would he have brought a book to read?

"You didn't account for public transport. It sucks," Ryoma told him, sounding nonchalant and entirely unapologetic at having made him wait.

Atobe stood, shaking his head. "I want some coffee. Come on, brat."

Ryoma watched as Atobe started to walk away, heading towards a little coffee shop on the edge of the town centre. He tugged his hat on, and there was something distinctly different about it. It was still warm from being on Atobe's head, and smelt like a mix between vanilla and coconut. It was nice.

Then a thought hit him, and he stood too, hurrying to catch up to Atobe. "Wait. How did you know my phone number?"


	3. Candy Cane

Ryoma was almost certain that there was some sort of force against him this weekend. Where Atobe had rudely woken him yesterday morning with a phone call, his Mum had done so this morning - claiming that he needed to go to the market to get some cat food for Karupin.

He ate his breakfast slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. He was going to be so damn tired on Monday morning. If worst came to worst he'd just phone Kachiro to start practice, so that he could get some more sleep. He didn't even have the option of going to bed early - he had revision to do for a science test first lesson tomorrow.

He nibbled at the edge of his toast, and muttered. "Why couldn't you have sent Dad to go get the cat food?"

"Ryoma," Rinko admonished, placing a glass of milk in front of him. Ryoma glared at it as though it was going to kill him. Even if he wasn't in the same school as Inui anymore, he was still using his menu. "Your father is busy in the shrine. You're not going to be out long."

"He is not busy." Ryoma took a sip of milk. "You know as well as I do that all he does up there is read his dirty-"

"That is enough!" Ryoma winced at her tone, and gave all of his attention to eating his toast. Rinko placed some money on the table - enough to cover buying cat food for a month. "You will go to the market, and you will get some cat food. Is that clear?"

Ryoma finished off his toast, and then mumbled, "Yes, Mum."

"Oh, and while you're there, get a small present for your team," Rinko said, clearing the empty plate from the table. "There is enough money there to cover it, I'm sure."

"But, Mum-" Ryoma started to protest, but trailed off at the look he was given. His Mum didn't need to say any more. He pocketed the money and stood up, quickly downing his milk. How was he supposed to keep up the image of a stoic captain, when his Mum made him buy presents for his team.

Rinko smiled at him. "Don't forget to wrap up warm, it's cold out."

"Fine, see you in a bit." Ryoma left the room then, stopping on his way to the door to grab his coat, scarf, hat and gloves. He pulled each of them on quickly before he had to brave the freezing weather outside.

---

The market was surprisingly busy for ten in the morning. Ryoma had to weave between some people on the street just to get inside the shop itself - which was a little insane, truth be told. What was it about December that made everyone want to rush out in large groups? Hadn't they ever heard of online shopping?

Clearly not, Ryoma thought, as someone elbowed him in the back while he was walking down the aisle with all the fresh vegetables on it. Not even an apology either, this was completely ridiculous. He hated having to go shopping near Christmas.

When he reached the shelves with all of the cat food on, he stopped. There looked like there were hundreds of different flavours, and then hundreds of boxes of dried food on top of that. Then small treats and toys. Why were there so many? How was he supposed to choose one from all of these? He couldn't remember the last one that Karupin had, but he was sure that the label had been purple...

He picked a couple of tins up off the shelf and turned around, only to bump straight into someone who had been passing by. He dropped the tins, and one landed on his foot - it took all of his will power not to curse out loud. "Sorry," he muttered quickly.

"As you should be, Echizen. Don't you watch where you're going?"

Ryoma usually didn't believe in fate, or anything like that, but he was encountering Atobe far too often for it to be anything else. "You. I take it back, I'm not sorry." He bent down to pick up the fallen tins of cat food. "What are you doing here?"

Atobe shook his head, and picked up a tin that had settled beside him, handing it to Ryoma. "Not that it's any of your business, but I came in here to buy a bottle of water." He looked at the tins closely then. "Cat food?"

"Yes, I have a cat." Ryoma hadn't picked up a basket when he entered the store, and now he really wished that he had. He'd forgotten about getting the team a little present too. Atobe was a captain, maybe he'd have some kind of idea of what to get. "Seeing as you're here, you might as well be useful. If you had to get a present for all of your tennis team, what would you get?"

Atobe looked at him strangely. "A present? Why would you be-"

"Don't question why, and just answer the one I asked." Ryoma stacked the tins on top of each other, hoping that they'd be easier to carry that way.

"I don't appreciate being ordered around, brat." Atobe sighed and took some of the tins out of Ryoma's hand, because he was struggling to keep the balance. "Well, for the whole tennis team... why not get something like sweets?"

"Like, Christmas sweets?" Ryoma asked, starting to walk down the aisle. Atobe followed along by his side.

"Yes, Echizen, like Christmas sweets. Ribbon sweets, or some biscuits. Maybe candy cane." Atobe grabbed a bottle of water from a fridge, as they passed by it, and Ryoma waited for him until they carried on.

Ryoma's lips tugged up into a half smile, half smirk. "That's not a bad idea, monkey king."

Atobe ignored the nickname, because there really was nothing he could do about it. "I never have bad ideas."

"That's what you like to think," Ryoma retorted, walking into the aisle that had all the confectionary on it. He looked at the rows, and rows of boxes of advent calendars, and other chocolates. There were sweets on every shelf, packaged in true garish, Christmas style. He grabbed a couple of boxes of candy cane, and balanced his tins of cat food on top.

"You should have got a basket, Echizen." Atobe smirked, and looked up the aisle at some commotion - probably a kid had knocked over some of the advent calendars.

Ryoma grabbed something else off the shelf whilst Atobe's attention was diverted. "Shut up."

Once Ryoma had got all that he needed, they walked over to the tills in silence. Atobe paid for his water, and then placed the tins he'd been carrying down on the counter. Ryoma put the rest of them, and the boxes of candy cane, down. Atobe waited for him while he paid, though Ryoma couldn't quite figure out why. He could have left and gone back home by now.

He bagged up his purchases and they walked to the door together. When there Ryoma fished around in the bag, and pulled something out, placing it gently into Atobe's hand. Once he was sure that Atobe had a decent grip on it he said, "See you around."

Ryoma walked until he was sure he was out of sight, and then looked over his shoulder with a smirk. He wondered what Atobe would think of that rainbow coloured candy cane.


	4. The Nativity

"All right, that's it for today. Regulars, we'll be on the indoor courts tomorrow morning," Ryoma said, standing near to the front door. He'd only called them in this afternoon to let them know a few plans, and he goddamn wished that the freshmen would stop looking at him like he was some kind of idol. He wondered if Tezuka ever felt like this. He also wondered if Atobe had to put up with it, but then realised that he probably relished in the attention.

Kachiro handed him a file, and smiled, while the rest of the team filtered out of the clubroom in dribs and drabs. "Walking home today, Ryoma?"

"Yeah, but I'll be a bit late. Ryuuzaki-sensei wanted to talk to me about something." Ryoma flicked through the file. Forms for the Junior Invitational Camp - was that coming up soon? Time went very quickly, Ryoma thought.

"Wonder what she wants," Kachiro mused, shouldering his bag. He shook his head. "Anyway, I have to go. Dad wants some help at the club today."

Ryoma nodded. "See you tomorrow morning."

He walked over to the benches, and picked his bag up, slinging it over his shoulder. He sighed to himself and decided to go and walk on the courts a bit. It was strange, not being on them daily. He locked the clubroom door behind him as he left, slipping the key into his pocket. Ryuuzaki could wait a bit, it wasn't as though she'd said it was urgent.

Ryoma walked over to the fence, and pushed open the the gate, moving slowly onto the baseline. He toed the edge of the court. It felt icy and cold and very wrong. He shook his head and sighed - one thing he disliked about winter, other than the crowds, was not being able to play tennis outside. The indoor courts just weren't as good.

"Scowling at the ground and kicking it isn't going to make the court de-ice, Echizen."

If Ryoma hadn't been certain about it before, he was now. Atobe Keigo was stalking him. He was wearing his uniform, and a really warm looking knee-length brown coat. He had a beige coloured scarf tied around his neck. All colour co-ordinated with his uniform. Why wasn't he surprised? "I didn't realise that you went to Seigaku."

Atobe looked thoroughly amused, and ran a hand through his hair, walking onto the court to stand next to Ryoma. "I didn't see lots of happy little first years clutching candy cane when I got here, enamoured with the fact that their captain gave them a present." Atobe smirked. "Not given them out yet?"

"Shut up," Ryoma said, nudging Atobe in the side.

"My, my, someone is happy today."

"I'm about as happy as being cast in the role of sheep number three in the Christmas Play," Ryoma answered.

Atobe looked stunned for a moment, and then a little thoughtful, as though he didn't quite understand what was going on. After a few moments of deliberation he said, "What?"

"The Nativity." Ryoma was - without a doubt - amused, and certainly didn't mask it. "Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus. You know, the Christmas story."

"I know what the Nativity is, brat," Atobe said, and then added a little in disbelief. "You actually had to act it out?"

Ryoma shrugged. "Yeah, at Sunday School. Didn't you ever do anything like that here?"

Atobe actually laughed. "You went to Sunday School? Did you sing in the choir too?"

"Not that it matters, but yes I did." Ryoma's cheeks were tinged pink. "You don't do the Nativity here?"

"As far as I'm aware, no." Atobe must have noticed the slight blush, because he had a smug sort of grin across his face. He was never going to let him live this down now that he'd let it slip. "So, you were a sheep? How cute."

"Would you shut up about that? It's bad enough that my Mum brings out the photos every Christmas, and coos over how adorable her baby boy was."

"Perhaps I should meet with your mother some time, she sounds like a fine woman." That infernal smirk was still plastered across his face, and Ryoma just knew - just knew - that Atobe was thinking of a younger, smaller him dressed in a stupid sheep costume. At that very moment in time, all Ryoma wanted to do was smack him upside the head with his bag to knock that thought out of his mind.

Ryoma, in the end, settled for smacking him on the arm - not too hard - with the back of his hand, it was more playful than anything. "You will stay away from my Mum, asshole. You're not getting your hands on those photos."

"Oh, Echizen. You underestimate my resources. If I really wanted to, those pictures would be in my possession by the end of the day." That made Ryoma feel very nervous, because he didn't doubt that Atobe could find some way to get a hold of the photos his Mum had.

"Don't you dare," Ryoma said, turning around to walk off the court, leaving the threat hanging. In truth, there was nothing else he could do, except that.

Atobe followed behind him, with a chuckle. "Is that a threat? Cute. Very cute." Atobe, of course, didn't sound intimidated in the least. As usual just highly amused. Ryoma would have to find a way to get a decent threat across one day, one that would actually work. "Now, where are you off to?"

"To see Ryuuzaki-sensei. So stop following me." He didn't stop, Ryoma hadn't thought that he would have. Instead he kept his pace up so that they were walking side by side. Sometimes Atobe was so close that their hands brushed against each other, and he shivered. Ryoma didn't think that it had anything to do with the cold.

"Funnily enough, I need to see her too," Atobe said, and Ryoma wanted to bang his head against something hard. Fate really had it in for him, by throwing Atobe into his path every day.

They continued to walk in silence towards Ryuuzaki's office. There was nothing else to say really. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence either, it was just right. That was until Atobe had to go and open his big, stupid mouth.

"If persuaded correctly, would I be able to get you to wear a sheep costume again?"

Ryoma was going to kill Atobe one day. Or find some very inventive and enjoyable way to shut him up.


	5. Penguins

I have a quick question. The twenty-third drabble in this series has a sex scene, that would probably warrant a higher rating than an M. I'm a little dubious about posting it here, due to policies. I would like to know, quite seriously, the most explicit people have seen here without there being action taken against them.

Other than that, thank you all for reading. And thank you to all those reviewing too.

**Edit**: A little note. I know that it is Keigo, rather than Kei_ko_. The use of -ko makes the name feminine, and is Ryoma being a brat by using it. As usual w

* * *

Ryoma hated English class on a Tuesday morning. It was the longest of his classes of the day, and he always ended up correcting the teacher. Not today though. He was sleepy and bored, so he just hid behind his book - occasionally looking out of the window and sometimes finding himself drifting off to sleep. 

That was until his mobile phone went off. Not that anyone else would have heard it, he'd put it on silent that morning, but he felt it. In his pocket. Suddenly all eyes were on him before he realised he'd jumped and made a little squeaking noise. "Uh, sorry about that," he said. The teacher looked at him a little strangely, but then went back to what he was doing.

Ryoma fished his phone out of his pocket, hiding expertly behind his book. He pressed the button to view message and-

**From**: 'Keiko'

_Meet me outside your school. 4pm sharp. Don't be late this time, brat._

Ryoma stared at the screen for a long while, before it registered who was actually sending the message. Why on earth would Atobe want to meet him after school? He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, before sending back - _Why should I?_

He kept his phone out this time, knowing that he'd jump again if he left it in his pocket. He completely tuned out the rest of the class, waiting for that next message. When it did come, the phone moved across his desk a little, making noise under the vibrations. Horio looked over at him and mouthed - 'Echizen, what are you doing?'

Ryoma shook his head and mouthed back. 'Shut up. It's none of your business.'

He picked his phone back up, and read his message.

**From**: 'Keiko'

_Do you have to question everything? Just be there. And don't forget your hat._

"Asshole," Ryoma muttered out loud, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

The teacher stopped talking. Perhaps he'd said it louder than he'd intended. "Echizen, from line thirty two please."

Ryoma stood, holding his book. "Yes, sensei." He started to read from the line he'd been told to read from, all the while cursing Atobe in his head. He was so going to pay for this.

---

Ryoma milled out with the rest of the crowds at the end of school. There was no practice that afternoon - he'd only wanted the regulars meeting for drills in the morning - so he was shuffling along with some of his classmates.

"Then she said that she wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot barge pole. I mean, what is she talking about? She doesn't have a barge pole!" Horio screeched somewhat, and the sound was grating on his ears a little.

Everyone went silent, and there was a crowd gathered at the front gates. Ryoma's stomach sunk like a stone in water. He had a bad feeling about this.

They slowly got closer and closer to the gates, and Ryoma wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run. He couldn't though, not with Horio and the others with him. It wasn't long before they cut through the crowds - mostly first years, with big, shiny eyes. That's when they saw him.

"Atobe? What is he doing here?" Kachiro asked in a hushed whisper. The others shrugged and shook their heads. Ryoma, on the other hand, wanted to bang his head against a wall.

Atobe was blatantly flirting with some of the girls from the third year class, they were blushing and giggling, flipping their hair and fluttering their eyelashes. It was a pathetic sight, in all honesty. It would also do nothing but feed Atobe's stupid ego. He didn't need the girls at Seigaku fawning all over him.

It was just his luck, of course, that Atobe noticed him. "Ah, Echizen. It's about time."

For the second time that day all eyes were on him, and he sighed, walking slowly over to where Atobe stood - the crowd parted to let him through. He was sure he could hear Horio shouting 'whaaat?!' in the background. "Couldn't you have been a little more inconspicuous, idiot."

"I don't think that that is possible, brat. Being who I am and all." Atobe smirked and gestured to his limousine. "Ready to go?" All of the girls had gone a bit slack jawed, and Ryoma could feel their eyes trying to burn holes into him.

Ryoma gave him a look that bordered on being unimpressed. "In the limo?"

"Yes, Echizen, in the limo. Come along." Atobe didn't wait for him to follow, and just walked over to the stupid vehicle, his driver opening the door for him. Ryoma resigned himself to going after him, blocking out all of the hushed whispers from the crowd. The rumours that were going to be going around tomorrow would be very annoying. Atobe was going to pay for that too.

---

As it turned out, the only thing Atobe had paid for was a trip to the zoo. They had turned it into a Winter Wonderland and - as Atobe had told him in the limousine - it had come highly recommended from Oshitari, who had visited it with Gakuto on the weekend. Ryoma didn't really care if it was supposed to be good or not, what he wanted to know was why Atobe had brought him to see it with him.

"What are we doing here again?" Ryoma asked, cradling his hot chocolate in his hands.

Atobe gave a long suffering sigh - Ryoma thought that he should be the one doing that, not Atobe. "We are here because this is a rare event at this zoo. You should learn to appreciate the gifts you're given, brat."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Ryoma said, sipping his hot chocolate and relishing in the warmth it gave him. He looked around at all the signs hung up everywhere.

Atobe smirked. "What would you like to see, brat? I heard that they have some beautiful white tigers, and even snow leopards." He waved his hand in the direction of some glossy posters, advertising said animals.

While he was waving his hand, something caught Ryoma's eye, and he grinned. "Penguins."

"Penguins?" Atobe repeated in disbelief. "They have white tigers and snow leopards, and you want to see penguins?"

Ryoma didn't say anything in return, just started walking towards the enclosure. He tilted his head in a way that told Atobe to hurry up, and come on.

The penguin enclosure, it turned out, was one of the more popular areas in the zoo. There were seemingly hundreds of children gathered around, watching them waddle back and forth. Some of them were pressed up against the glass that let you see them swim underwater. It was all rather adorable. One little boy was bouncing up and down, and trying to imitate their walk.

"I don't see why we're not looking at the white tigers," Atobe said, peering over the edge of the wall keeping the penguins in. His eyes followed one of the smaller ones as it waddled to the edge of the pool, and then back again.

Ryoma smiled, and sipped some more at his hot chocolate. "You don't think it's cute?"

Atobe looked at him for much longer than was needed, and didn't look back at the penguins when he patted Ryoma on the head and said, "It's cute."

When one of the penguins dived into the water, the little boy that had been bouncing on his toes jumped, and ran back to get his Mum to tell her all about it. What hindered his retreat was him banging straight into Ryoma, making him lose his balance. He fell into Atobe, who reacted quickly, hands pressed firmly on his arms to steady him again. Ryoma hated children. He hadn't noticed some of the chocolate had spilled on his gloves, until the heat forced him to pull them off quickly.

"You okay?" Atobe asked, only letting go when he was sure that Ryoma was balanced once more.

Ryoma shoved his gloves into his pocket, wincing as the cold hit him. "Fine, I'm fine," he replied.

Atobe didn't believe this - for that could be the only reason for his next action - and pulled his own gloves off, pressing them gently into Ryoma's hand. "They'll be a bit big, but wear them anyway."

Ryoma opened his mouth to argue, but thought twice about it at the look Atobe gave him. "Thanks," he muttered, putting them on. They were really warm, and cosy.

"I'll expect them back tomorrow, of course." Atobe looked back at the penguins again. "I'll pick you up after school."

Ryoma would have to get used to this, Atobe being around so much. Somehow, the thought of that didn't disappoint him, which was strange. He edged closer to Atobe, so the sides of their bodies were almost touching, and sometimes they brushed against each other.

Ryoma found himself looking forward to the next day.


	6. Snow

Thank you to Kasugai Gummie for the lovely review. I really appreciated it.

As for the sex scene from drabble 23, I'm thinking of linking to where this was originally posted, mostly because I'm not comfortable uploading it here. I hope that this won't trouble anyone at all.

* * *

"Ryoma, get up. You have ten more minutes before you have to leave."

Ryoma stirred under the covers, his fingers still gripping the duvet and he snuggled down some more. It was far too cold to be getting out of bed, and he just wanted to sleep for a little while longer. He found himself drifting off after a few more minutes of silence. It was so warm under here.

"Ryoma. Don't make me come up there."

His Mum's voice sounded impatient, and he really didn't want her to come up here and get him out of bed. He didn't appreciate having the covers pulled off him on any other day, never mind one as cold as this. There was something about winter that made him sleepier than usual. He poked his head out from under the covers. "Okay, okay. I'm up now."

He groaned and pushed the covers off himself, shivering as he did so, and slipped out of bed. He rubbed at his eyes sleepily and yawned. He really, really wasn't a morning person.

He got himself ready slowly, his fingers fumbling with the buttons on his school uniform. He wondered idly if he would be late for school, and he looked over at his clock - it was flashing eight thirty. He'd be able to get to homeroom on time if he ran.

Ryoma walked over to his curtains and opened them. He shut his eyes quickly as he was met with brilliant white, which hurt his eyes. He squinted once he thought that he could look again, and then fully opened his eyes. Outside was covered in a thick blanket of white. It was completely and utterly breathtaking. Beautiful. Like one of those glossy postcards you got for sale at the front of shops.

Though he couldn't help but grumble as he went down the stairs for breakfast anyway. "You could have told me that it had snowed," he said to his Mum, as she passed him a piece of toast, and shooed him in the direction of the door.

"It wouldn't have got you up any quicker, Ryoma," she replied, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Ryoma wrinkled his nose at that. "Don't forget your coat. Oh. And these."

She handed him the gloves Atobe had given him the day before. He took them and there was a faint aroma of lavender and camomile on them. His Mum must have washed them. "Thanks, Mum."

"Don't forget to thank him too, it was nice of him to give you his gloves." Rinko smoothed down the front of her skirt and smiled at him.

"I already said thank you," Ryoma told her, grabbing his coat and putting the gloves in one of the front pockets.

Rinko gave him a look that clearly said 'you will do as I say, young man, or there will be dire consequences.' Ryoma didn't like to think about what those consequences would be.

He pulled his coat on, and wrapped his scarf around his neck. "All right, I'll say thank you. Again."

Ryoma slid the front door open, and jumped back when some snow fell into the house, making a little pile on the floor. He hadn't been expecting that. As it turned out, neither had his Mum.

He left, muttering a quick 'see you later' and winced as he heard his Mum shouting. He was very glad that he wasn't his Dad.

"Nanjiroh! I thought I told you to shovel that snow."

---

Ryoma found himself spacing out more and more, all day. Instead of his mind concentrating solely on his work, he found it drifting to thoughts of Atobe. Thoughts of going to the zoo yesterday. Thoughts of warm hands closing around his arms, holding him firmly, keeping him safe. He blamed it entirely on the weather, and the dreamy sort of atmosphere it created. It was making him slightly delirious.

He'd been told off twice by his English teacher too, and found himself having to read out paragraphs for his absentmindedness. This, of course, was all Atobe's fault.

Still, when the end of the day came, Ryoma found himself the first person out of the room, rather than the last - as he usually was. He didn't like to think of why that was, but instead kept walking until he got to the front gate, where he saw Atobe waiting, but no limo. Some of the girls that had been part of the crowd yesterday walked passed him, whispering and looking, then turning away and giggling when Ryoma glanced their way. Girls were stupid.

"You don't have your limo today," Ryoma said, fishing the gloves out of his pocket and handing them to Atobe. Atobe took them without question.

There was a sort of contented smile on his face as he looked across the road, and replied, "Not today."

They lapsed into silence, and watched as the whole of Seigaku trickled out of the school in groups. Getting on buses, in cars, and walking in all different directions. Soon they were the only ones left, standing there, surrounded only by the snow.

"Lets go for a walk, brat," Atobe said finally, nodding in the direction of a park not far from here. Ryoma didn't have anything better to do, so he figured this was as good a thing as any to pass the time.

Ryoma nodded slowly. "Sure."

They walked along together. The silence not in the least bit awkward. It was comfortable. They watched the cars zooming passed, children running up and down the street, chasing each other with handfuls of snow. Everything seemed so much more lively with the snow, rather than dull like it had been the last few days.

They stopped just inside the entrance to the park, where there was a line of vending machines - including those ones that sold cans of warm drinks. Atobe was looking at them, as though deliberating if he should get something from there.

"I'm thirsty. I suppose you would like a drink too?" Atobe eventually said. Ryoma knew that that was his way of asking him if he wanted a drink.

He smirked, and shoved his hands in his pocket. "Hot chocolate."

"How predictable, brat. Though coffee is likely far too sophisticated a drink for you." There was an infuriating grin plastered across his face as he said, "And next time, say please. Or I might not get you anything."

Ryoma didn't know what possessed him, but the second Atobe turned around to walk to the vending machine he bent down, scooped some snow into his hands to make a ball, and chucked it straight at him. Atobe never even saw it coming, and Ryoma thought that it was so worth it, just for the look on his face.

It was a cross between mild horror and amusement, as Atobe brought his hand up to the back of his head to brush the snow away. "Why you little-"

That was when it all descended into chaos. Atobe - much to Ryoma's surprise - retaliated with chucking a snowball of his own, which caught Ryoma square on the chest. What followed was a very long fight, with snow flying in every direction. There was laughter, so much laughter, from both of them, and it was the most surreal moment Ryoma could ever think of because he'd never have imagined, not in a million years, that Atobe would ever have a snowball fight with him.

Ryoma scooped up some more snow in his hands, and charged at Atobe, fully intending to stand on his tip toes and ruffle it into his hair. Atobe caught his wrist though, and he lost his balance, toppling backwards. Atobe was caught off guard, and too tired to keep his own, so he fell too. They landed on the snow, it crunching beneath them, Ryoma sprawled underneath Atobe's body. Ryoma just took this moment to try and catch his breath, but Atobe was looking at him strangely.

"What?" Ryoma asked, his voice breathless, and there was a puff of air between them. Atobe looked so different, with his hair damp and dishevelled - he too was breathless, and his nose and cheeks were tinged pink from the cold. Ryoma assumed his were too.

Atobe shook his head and brushed some of the hair away from his face, and somehow... somehow he just knew what Atobe was going to do. Ryoma found that he didn't want to stop him.

Atobe kept leaning forward, closer and closer, until their lips brushed together gently. They were cold, but soft, and for whatever reason it sent a shiver through Ryoma - though that could have been from the snow that was slowly soaking through his coat. Atobe pulled back a little, and he could feel his breath against his lips, and it was warm.

He seemed to be carefully considering what he'd just done, but Ryoma didn't move. Perhaps it was his lack of reaction that prompted Atobe to kiss him again, harder this time, and there were teeth nipping at his lower lip, which made him jump a little in shock. Their foreheads banged together, and Atobe pulled away quickly. They both rubbed at their heads, and then looked at each other, before sharing laughter once more. Atobe helped him up to his feet, and they brushed the snow off each other, smiles on both their faces.

"You've got a long way to go," Atobe whispered, as they parted ways.

Ryoma couldn't help but think that maybe, that wasn't such a bad thing at all.


	7. Layers

Ryoma didn't have a problem getting up in the morning, which was strange for him. He, in fact, was up hours before he needed to be - despite the temperature having dropped drastically low since yesterday. He couldn't be blamed, of course, as there was a lot on his mind. For example, the touch of lips against lips, chilling and gentle. Soft fingers brushing hair from his face. He hated that thoughts of Atobe had kept him awake a lot of the night, but at the same time... wanted it to continue.

Upon peering out of his window he saw that overnight a fresh layer of snow had fallen, but it was completely untouched this early in the morning. It was like a thick, white sheet had been draped across the ground, cars and houses. He stepped away from the window and thought that it would be a nightmare to walk to school this morning.

He dressed in his uniform, making sure to add an extra pair of socks, and a t-shirt underneath his school shirt. He'd wear a jacket under his coat too, because he didn't fancy freezing to death. Which may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but he didn't care.

He trudged down the stairs to find his Mum whistling 'Winter Wonderland' whilst cooking some rice. He dumped his bag on the floor by the table and slumped into the seat. "Morning."

His Mum jumped at the noise, and turned around. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost, and then slightly panicky as she averted her gaze to the clock. When she found that it only read eight she visibly relaxed. "Ryoma, it's early."

"I know," Ryoma said, poking the bottle of soy-sauce on the table so that it slid across the surface.

Rinko shook her head and turned back to her cooking, continuing her whistling rendition of 'Winter Wonderland.' Ryoma thought that it'd be better if she just sung it, because his Mum had a nice voice. It did set a sort of gentle lulling atmosphere to the kitchen, and he couldn't help but smile.

Then his Dad had to ruin it.

"Oi, Rinko. Where did you put the-" Nanjiroh stopped dead and looked at Ryoma, much in the way that his Mum had. "Brat, what are you doing up? No, no. Doesn't matter. How about helping your old man out, eh?"

Ryoma gave him a look of pure loathing and shook his head. "No."

"No?" Nanjiroh squawked. "Such disrespect for your elders. I think you should shovel the drive for your troubles!"

"Nanjiroh. The shovel is under the stairs, and you will go outside and shovel that driveway." Rinko turned, brandishing her wooden spoon quite menacingly. "Stop trying to lump your chores onto Ryoma."

Nanjiroh folded his arms across his chest, and stormed out of the room muttering, "Fine." Ryoma thought that it really was his own fault that he almost had to face his Mum's wrath, so really, he shouldn't feel sorry for him. On the other hand, his Mum could be quite scary when she wanted to.

Breakfast was served not long after that, a bowl of rice being placed down in front of him. His Mum smiled and poured him a glass of milk. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No." Ryoma picked up his chopsticks and started eating. "Did you wash my coat?"

Rinko gave him an exasperated look, which clearly said 'I am not your slave,' but sighed and answered anyway. "Yes, I did. But it's not dry."

Ryoma almost dropped his chopsticks. "It's not dry?"

"No. I don't know how you got so wet Ryoma, but you can't tumble dry that coat." She shook her head and gestured to the coat hanging in front of the radiator. "You'll have to borrow one of your Dad's."

"It'll be too big," Ryoma said, shovelling down his rice. "I'll just wear my Seigaku jacket."

"Slow down, you'll get a stomach ache," Rinko reprimanded. "And that isn't going to keep you warm."

Ryoma shrugged his shoulders, and sipped at his milk. "It'll do for today."

He spent the rest of the morning sat silently in the kitchen, watching his Mum bustle around, humming many more carols, bringing a sort of festive cheer to the place. When he did leave for school, he was bundled up in his Seigaku jacket, which didn't look so great with his uniform and scarf. Not that he particularly cared.

---

"What happened to you? Did the laundry basket spew it's contents onto you, in an attempt to start a new fashion trend?" Atobe sneered, standing outside the clubhouse. He must have found out from someone when practice finished.

Ryoma smacked him on the arm, and shut the door behind him. "Actually the reason I'm dressed like this would be your fault. If you hadn't have got me wet-"

Atobe almost spluttered, except it wasn't something that he did, so instead he just interrupted. "I'm sorry, what?"

There was a long moment of silence before Ryoma actually got it. "Not like that, you pervert." He placed the key in his pocket. "The snow soaked my coat, and it can't be tumble dried."

"I see," Atobe said. "Aren't you cold?"

"Absolutely bloody freezing," Ryoma admitted, with a nicely timed shiver. "I'm even wearing extra socks and a t-shirt."

Atobe chuckled, his eyes alight with amusement. "You're such a wuss, Echizen."

"So you're not wearing an extra pair of socks, at least?" Ryoma found it hard to believe that Atobe could survive without them. Surely his toes would be frozen.

"Thermal." Was all that Atobe said, keeping his eyes trained on Ryoma. It didn't take long for his teeth to start chattering, or for a noticeable shiver to remain in his body permanently. Atobe sighed and unzipped his coat. "Come here."

Ryoma looked at him strangely as Atobe slipped one arm out of his sleeve. He used that hand to grab Ryoma's wrist and tug him forward, until he was pressed flush against Atobe's side. "What are you doing?"

"Put your arm around me, Echizen," Atobe commanded, as he guided Ryoma's other arm through the unused sleeve of his coat. Ryoma did as he was told, and found himself almost instantly warm. So that's what he'd been planning. "Now, isn't that better than all of those silly layers that you're wearing?"

Ryoma shook his head, and found his fingers moving along Atobe's side gently, almost unconscious in their movement. "Much."

Atobe smirked and guided them along, his own arm settled around Ryoma's shoulders. It was decidedly hard to walk when you were sharing a coat with someone, but there was something so intimate about it - Ryoma thought it was almost sweet of Atobe to have offered in the first place.

That was until the hand that had been around his shoulder decided to go for a wander, and ended up resting against his ass. Of course that was his plan, the stupid pervert.

Though it wasn't as though he was telling him to remove it.


	8. Shopping

"So," Ryoma said, sounding a little nervous. "Seeing as today is the last practice of the year, and uh, my last Christmas with you as captain-" He trailed off as excitedly hushed whispers spread across the team.

Kachiro looked at him, as though he didn't know what he was planning - which he wouldn't, because Ryoma had decided to just spring this all on them at the last moment. He assumed it would be better that way.

"I've got you all a little something." Ryoma bent down to the plastic bag at his feet and pulled out the boxes of candy cane he had purchased a few days earlier. "You get one each," he said, opening the boxes, and passing them to the first people in each line.

Some of the first years looked like they were going to wet themselves with happiness at having a gift from the captain. Ryoma felt vaguely embarrassed at this, he hoped that they'd grow out of this hero worship soon. It wasn't good for tennis.

He returned to the side of his vice-captain and sighed. Kachiro smiled at him, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "That was a nice thing to do, Ryoma."

Ryoma wrinkled his nose, and swatted Kachiro's hand away. "I know."

Once the sweets had been distributed between the whole tennis club, Ryoma composed himself once more, letting himself slip back into captain mode. "Have a good Christmas everyone. Dismissed."

Once the words left his mouth, the room was buzzing with chatter, the team filtering out of the door, clutching at their candy cane as though it was the greatest treasure ever. He supposed that seeing his team so happy was worth it. He waited until they'd all left before following behind, not needing to lock the door because the volleyball team had a meeting in there in ten minutes.

He had barely left the sports hall before he felt a firm grip around his wrist, tugging him into an empty corridor. He tried to pull from the grip, but it was too tight. Just when he was about to shout at whoever had grabbed him...

"I see you gave them the gifts then." Atobe. He should have bloody known. "They all looked so happy. I think you owe me a thank you."

"I don't owe you anything," Ryoma countered, finally managing to snatch his wrist out of Atobe's hand, though he suspected that Atobe had let him.

Atobe chuckled and stepped closer to Ryoma. "Now, now, Echizen. I was the one who gave you the idea. I think I should be properly thanked."

"Thank you," Ryoma said, not sounding like he meant it in the least.

"That's not good enough." Atobe took another step closer to him, and Ryoma hadn't realised that he'd been stepping back, until he hit the wall. He placed his hands either side of Ryoma's head, palms flat against the wall. He leant forward until their foreheads were almost touching. "I think you can do much better than that."

Ryoma didn't have enough time to say anything else - though his lips were half parted in an attempt to try - before Atobe's hand was cupping his face, and tilting it upwards. His breath caught, and he could feel his heart starting to race. He lost all thought when Atobe pressed his lips against his own, a gentle open mouthed kiss.

It was warmer than the last one, and just as soft. This time, however, Atobe didn't pull away. He nipped at Ryoma's lower lip, eyes awash with amusement, but Ryoma didn't jump. It felt a little strange, but in a good way, and Atobe took Ryoma's lack of shock as a sign to deepen it once more. He slipped his tongue passed Ryoma's already parted lips, and Ryoma found his eyes slipping shut. His heart felt like it was about to burst, and there was a tingling warmth spreading through his whole body.

Everything was going great until he couldn't breathe anymore, so he placed his hands against Atobe's chest so he could push him away. He took a breath and almost glared at Atobe when he heard him chuckle.

"Your nose. Breathe through your nose," he said, and Ryoma felt so incredibly embarrassed at that. He didn't have the chance to deliberate over the thought much more, because Atobe was kissing him again. A flurry of tongue and teeth and passion, that left his knees feeling weak. He was thankful that he was pressed against the wall, because he didn't think that he'd be able to support himself if he wasn't.

He tentatively started to respond, brushing his own tongue against Atobe's, and threading his fingers into his hair - once he felt a bit more comfortable. It continued for what seemed like forever, the two of them, pressed against each other, kissing and kissing and kissing.

All things had to come to an end, however, and they slowly broke apart.

"You're welcome." Atobe sounded a little breathless, and Ryoma doubted that he was far behind him. His heart was still pounding against his chest, and he felt completely ravished. "What are you doing today?" The question sent a shiver through Ryoma's spine. Atobe's tone was low, huskily so.

Ryoma took a few more moments to find his voice to answer. "I told you last night, three times, I have to go Christmas shopping."

"Are you sure?" Atobe started playing with Ryoma's hair, and he suddenly felt like saying 'screw shopping.' He couldn't though. He had to get some presents for people.

"I'm sure," Ryoma replied.

Atobe pressed a quick kiss against Ryoma's lips. "Very well then. I shall accompany you."

Ryoma wanted to bang his head against the wall. Atobe was one of the people he had to buy for.

---

Ryoma decided that he was never, ever going shopping with Atobe again. He'd been dragged into stores where he was sure the price tag on some stupid scarf had been more than the price of his house. Anyone with an ounce of common sense wouldn't spend that much on a scarf, when they could get an equally as nice one that had the same function for cheaper.

"I thought I said that I needed to go Christmas shopping," Ryoma said, as Atobe picked up a black, silk shirt, holding it in front of himself. Ryoma couldn't help but think that that would look really good on him.

Atobe put the shirt back down onto the rail. "Are these shops not good enough, Echizen?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'd be good enough, if I could afford to buy a button off one of these." Ryoma gestured to the hundreds of items of expensive and lavish clothing surrounding them.

"Then where would you like to go?" Atobe asked, leading him out of the shop.

Ryoma shrugged, but didn't say anything when Atobe didn't remove his hand from the small of his back. "I don't know. Somewhere where the price tag isn't going to give me a heart attack."

Atobe laughed at that, but Ryoma really didn't think that it was a laughing matter at all. "Well then, you lead the way."

They ended up walking around a shop which sold cosmetics, and other assorted items. Ryoma wanted to get some bath salts - or something along those lines - for his Mum. Maybe he could get her a little gift box. He turned to ask Atobe what he thought of the particular one he'd picked up, only to find him sniffing some bars of soap. He couldn't contain his laughter, and when Atobe noticed that he was being watched, he hastily put the soap back down again.

"Smell nice?" Ryoma asked, still holding the gift box he'd picked up.

"As a matter of fact, yes it did." Atobe looked around at the other shoppers, some of whom were doing exactly what he had moments before. "Can we go yet?"

Ryoma shoved the gift box into Atobe's hands. "For my Mum. What do you think?"

Atobe looked at the label, and seemed to be concentrating on the contents of the box. "Hmm, a very nice selection. I approve."

"Good," Ryoma said, taking the box off Atobe. "I'm going to pay for this. You amuse yourself. Smell some more soap."

Ryoma didn't wait for Atobe's reaction to that, instead making his way to the tills. He didn't need to take the option of gift wrapping - it was already in a box with a ribbon around it, were they stupid - and paid for it as quickly as possible. Admittedly that wasn't very fast, seeing as he'd had to stand in the queue for god knows how long.

When he was finished he returned to Atobe's side, who was now inspecting some sort of cologne stuff. "We can go now," he said.

Atobe put the bottle back down onto the shelf. "Is there anywhere else you need to go?"

"To be honest, I just want to go home. I'm tired."

"Poor little baby sleepy after a little bit of shopping?" Atobe mocked, a wide smirk on his face. The walked out of the shop side by side, standing close enough for Ryoma to accidentally knock his back into his leg. Atobe gave him a withering look. "Cute."

They trudged through the snow, Atobe insisting that he walk him to the bus stop, since he'd so adamantly refused to get into the limo. Ryoma knew that his Dad would go on and on about Ryoma hooking up with some rich girl. He gave Atobe a quick look from head to toe. Well... he wouldn't be far wrong.

It was only when they passed a toy shop near to the bus station that Ryoma saw the perfect present. He knew where he had to come back to to buy something for Atobe. This was going to be priceless.


	9. Carols

I want to thank everyone for their lovely reviews. It has been a long time since I completed this fanfiction (over a year now), and I'm glad that people can still enjoy it. I hope that you can enjoy the rest of this - and I shall try to update more regularly, barring illness and so-on.

I hope that you're all enjoying the holidays so far.

* * *

Ryoma pulled open the front door, shaking the snow off himself before entering - his Mum would have him mopping up the water otherwise, after she'd shouted a little. He took his shoes off and deposited them next to his Mum's, but kept his coat and scarf on because he was still a little cold. He'd been more successful in getting presents on his own today, than he had been with Atobe yesterday. He'd spent less time there too, but admittedly it wasn't as fun.

"I'm home," he called out, walking towards the kitchen. Something smelled absolutely gorgeous.

"Oh, Ryoma!" Rinko said as Ryoma entered the kitchen. "Could you do me a favour and pass me that knife."

Ryoma placed the bag he'd been carrying down on the table, and then walked over to the sink to grab the knife. He handed it to her and asked, "What are you cooking?" He peered over her shoulder to try and see what was in the pot.

Rinko started cutting some carrots and added them into - what looked like - a load of faint brown water. "Stew," she answered, placing the knife down on the counter. "Get anything nice?"

"Just presents." Ryoma walked over to the table, and sat down, watching his Mum hurry back and forth, adding stuff to the pot of stew. "The carol singers were out in droves today. Bad English and all."

Rinko laughed. "Perhaps we should go singing. We'd show them all up."

Ryoma wrinkled his nose, and fiddled with the edge of the plastic bag. "No. How long until dinner is ready?"

"Not for another hour or so yet," Rinko said, picking something up from the tray next to her. "Here, catch." She chucked whatever it was she had in her hand and, thankful for his quick reflexes, he caught it.

"Thanks, Mum." It was a warm, crusty roll of bread. It looked like it hadn't been out of the oven long, and it smelt wonderful. He ripped a corner off it, and started to eat.

"Don't tell your Dad." She sounded serious, but at the same time a little playful. "I had to smack his hand with a spoon earlier, when he tried to steal one." She laughed and went silent for a long moment. "Oh!"

Ryoma paused in eating his bread. "Oh?"

His Mum gestured at the fridge. "Your Dad took a call earlier, an... Adobe Keiko. Said she was going to come around here later."

Ryoma didn't know if he wanted to laugh, or bang his head on the table. It was one thing for him to put Atobe's name wrong in his phone on purpose, but for his Dad to get both names wrong, it was kind of funny. "Um. I think Dad made a mistake."

"He did?" Rinko turned around to face him, looking a little puzzled.

Ryoma nodded, and this time he really did want to laugh. "I don't know a girl called Adobe Keiko. I do know a guy called Atobe Keigo though."

There was silence for the longest time, before Rinko's lips quirked up into a smile, and she started laughing. It was all Ryoma needed to set off his laughter too. His Dad could be such an idiot sometimes.

"Oi, oi. What's all this laughing, eh?" Najiroh asked as he walked into the room, looking around. He nudged Ryoma in the back. "You have a guest, brat." Najiroh pointed at the door, and Atobe was stood there, looking amused.

"Hey," Ryoma said, standing up. He picked the plastic bag up off the table. "Mum, call me when dinner is ready."

He walked passed Atobe, putting the bag in the cupboard in the hallway. He gestured that Atobe should follow, and kept heading in the direction of the stairs. Atobe bowed quickly to Rinko. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Echizen-san," he said, before hurrying a little to catch up to Ryoma.

"He seems like a nice young boy, doesn't he?" She mused to Nanjiroh, turning back to her cooking.

---

Ryoma couldn't actually remember how it happened. One minute he'd been kicking Atobe's ass at Mario tennis, and the next, Atobe was straddling him on his bed, kissing him as though it was the last time they ever would. It was deep and full of passion, Atobe's tongue coaxing him, teasing him. He nipped at his lips, and licked, and at one point even sucked gently at his tongue - which almost made Ryoma arch off the bed, but he didn't.

Ryoma knew it was getting serious when Atobe slid his hand under his shirt. He did arch off the bed that time, because he hadn't been expecting it, and Atobe's hands were a little cold. He gasped into the kiss, but that again was from Atoeb's cold hands. There were fingers running all over his body, and it just felt so good. It didn't take long before it started to feel like he was burning hot, everywhere that Atobe touched. He didn't understand it, but his heart was racing so fast.

Atobe broke away from his lips with one last press of lips, before he re-attatched himself to Ryoma's jaw line. He trailed kisses along it, his hands still tracing every inch of skin on Ryoma's chest. When Atobe moved to Ryoma's neck, and sucked, his hand dipped lower to his stomach. It was making Ryoma almost delirious with need. That was until he remembered where they were and what they were doing, and he tried to push him away.

"Atobe, stop it," he said, his voice coming out a little breathless. Atobe didn't stop however, his hand moving dangerously lower. Ryoma swallowed thickly, and resisted the urge to close his eyes. "Stop. Right now. My parents are downstairs."

Atobe stopped kissing his neck for a second, and smiled wickedly. "Well then, you'll just have to be very quiet, won't you?"

He was about to protest once more when a booming chorus of 'We wish you a Merry Christmas' came from downstairs. Atobe looked a little perplexed, and Ryoma almost cringed when he heard his Dad joining in.

"Boys! Come and sing."

Ryoma didn't know if he should be thankful for the carol singers interrupting them, or if he should bang his head against the wall because his Dad was so embarrassing. He managed to wriggle out from underneath Atobe, and slip off the bed, throwing a smirk over his shoulder as he left the room.

Atobe followed after him, looking a little annoyed at being denied his molesting Ryoma time. It didn't last long though as it morphed into an amused grin at the sight of Nanjiroh singing along in bad English with a load of twelve-year-old girls.

"Nanjiroh, boys, dinner," Rinko said, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Give them some money and let them carry on."

Ryoma walked into the kitchen, with Atobe very close behind him. They sat down opposite each other, which Ryoma should have known would be a bad idea. The bowls had only just been set down in front of them when Atobe started trailing his foot up his leg. A swift kick and a glare sorted that out though.

The rest of dinner went well, with some polite conversation being shared between them. That was until his Mum looked out the window and gasped. "Oh my, it's really coming down out there." She placed her spoon down. "You're not going to be able to get home in this weather, it'll be too dangerous."

Ryoma didn't voice it out loud, but inside his mind he shouted 'what?!'

"You'll have to stay the night. We can set up a futon, and get you something to wear. Can't we, Ryoma?"

Doomed. That's what he was. Doomed. "Yes," he muttered.

Atobe's smile turned a little predatory in Ryoma's opinion. "That's very kind of you, Echizen-san. I shall have to phone home to inform my parents."

Very, very, doomed.


	10. Bells

Ryoma slept deeply and dreamt. It wasn't a particularly monumental dream, more of a memory if he was completely honest. A tennis match. Simple as that, except not so simple at all because it meant so much. Exhausting, limit-pushing, breath-taking tennis. Amazing and beautiful. There were movements in the body so slight, so elegant, that if he hadn't been concentrating it would have been missed.

There was no dull thwack of the ball being returned, only the echoing sound of it hitting the ground, hitting strings, soaring through the air.

Everything was so vivid. The green of the court, the white of the lines, the cheering in the crowd. Except the face of his opponent. It was obscured in shadow, but somehow, somehow in the back of his mind he just knew who it was.

"Echizen."

It was fading now. He was lying on the ground, they both were. It couldn't end there. It couldn't.

"Oi, Echizen."

Black. His dream returned to black. If it was before eight am Ryoma was going to take his duvet and wrap it around the neck of whoever was calling him and...

"Echizen. Wake. Up."

The last word was punctuated with a pillow to his face, and Ryoma sat bolt upright in bed. There was no mistaking that voice and attitude. Atobe could be such an attention seeking child sometimes.

Ryoma groaned and rubbed at his eyes. "What?" He snapped, chucking the pillow back at Atobe. Of course he was still half asleep so it was a pitiful throw, which Atobe easily dodged. He was grinning like the cat that got the canary.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was starting to get bored." Atobe put the pillow back down on the futon, smoothing out the creases as he did so.

Ryoma sunk back down onto the bed, and pulled the covers over him. "Shame. Let me sleep a bit longer."

He hadn't been lying under the covers long when he felt them get tugged away from his body. He shivered because, dammit, it was so cold. He fixed an even glare at Atobe, hoping to convey that he was not impressed. Not that Atobe cared, he just clambered up onto the bed and straddled him. Ryoma thought that they'd gone through this last night.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Atobe cupped Ryoma's chin and leant forward to press a kiss against his lips. Ryoma, however, was having none of that - and swatted Atobe's hands away.

"No," he said, placing his hands against Atobe's chest and pushed, but Atobe wouldn't budge. "I told you last night, not when my parents are around."

Atobe huffed but didn't get off of Ryoma's body. "Echizen. They're probably downstairs."

"I don't care. No is no. Now get off me." Ryoma grabbed the pillow from underneath his head, and smacked it straight into Atobe's chest. Atobe, who hadn't been expecting it, fell off the bed, landing with a bang. Ryoma just stared at the space where Atobe had been and then...

"I fail to see what's so funny, Echizen. That hurt." Atobe looked completely and utterly scandalised, lying there on the floor rubbing his head. It did nothing to abate Ryoma's laughter, however, and he just continued, turning on his side and gripping his stomach.

"Boys, is everything ok?" Rinko called, and it sounded like she was at the bottom of the stairs. "I heard a bang."

Ryoma controlled his laughter for a moment to shout back, "Everything is fine. Atobe just... fell."

Atobe glared at him. He looked so incredibly grumpy. Ryoma couldn't blame him as such. He'd been denied last night, and again this morning - but Ryoma didn't want to run the risk of getting caught by his parents. He didn't mind Atobe kissing him, nor touching him, but when his parents were right there.

"Well breakfast will be ready in a minute, so come downstairs soon, ok?"

"Okay, Mum," Ryoma said, slipping off the bed. He couldn't be bothered to change out of his pyjamas, but he really should go have a wash or something. At least, that was his plan, until Atobe grabbed his ankles and he fell, sprawled on top of Atobe. He sighed, "Fine. One kiss, but that's it."

Atobe smirked, and Ryoma rolled his eyes in reply. He really, really was a spoilt brat. Nevertheless he pressed his lips against Atobe's, instantly parting them and tangling his tongue with Atobe's own. It was gentle and slow, and it created a sort of fluttering feeling in his stomach that Ryoma just couldn't quite place. Of course Atobe being Atobe his hands didn't stay still for long, and started running up and under his shirt, caressing the skin they met there. Ryoma shivered and gave into the kiss completely, getting more and more breathless by the second.

He couldn't remember much before kissing Atobe. He kind of had this presence, that completely consumed you. Not that he was complaining, because kissing Atobe felt damn good. Especially when Atobe did that, he thought, as Atobe sucked on his tongue and brushed his hands across his stomach. He had to stop this now, because otherwise they'd never go down to breakfast. He broke away from him, nipping at Atobe's lower lip, and panting. "Uh, good morning."

Atobe smirked, and pressed another light kiss to Ryoma's lips. His hands slipped downwards to cup Ryoma's ass, and squeezed. "Good morning."

Atobe Keigo was completely and utterly insatiable.

---

Ten minutes later - and a few more artfully dodging Atobe's advances in the bathroom - Ryoma felt that he looked normal enough to venture down the stairs. Atobe had a way of making him look completely and utterly ravished, even if all they'd been doing was kissing a little. Though if Atobe had had his way, it would have been a lot more than just kissing.

"Morning," he said to his Mum, taking his usual seat. Atobe took the one opposite him again, and Ryoma shot him a warning glance.

"Morning, Echizen-san." Atobe bowed his head a little, as Rinko placed their breakfast in front of them.

The snow was still falling outside the kitchen window, but not heavily like the night before. Just enough for a light dusting. In the distance they could hear the sound of the bell in the shrine, ringing to signify a new day. As Ryoma grabbed the strawberry jam before Atobe could, sticking out his tongue as he did so, he thought that this morning couldn't be any more perfect.


	11. Snowman

I apologise for how long it is taking for me to update this on here. Between University -- which is now out for the summer -- and my job, I have been incredibly busy. But I promise that I _will_ get all of these up by the end of the holidays. And maybe even write a couple of other stories, with a more sunny theme -- because really, snow at this time of year? Hardly seasonal reading. But then, perhaps it's just a refreshing change.

Enjoy this one, guys. I'll try and update again in a couple of days!

--

The snow hadn't stopped falling all night. Ryoma stared out of the window and there was nothing. No people walking to school, no cars driving down the road. It was as though everything had stopped. A settled snow globe, that's what it reminded him of. All of the snow had stopped, waiting for another shake up to send the flakes into a flurry. He yawned and grabbed his slippers, heading downstairs for something warm to drink.

His Mum was, however, one step ahead of him as always. "The school is closed for the day," she said, placing a mug of hot chocolate in front of him. "You going to go out?"

Ryoma shrugged and blew over his drink, trying to take away the initial scalding hotness. "Don't know. Might go to the park or something."

"You should call Atobe, see if he wants to meet up. Such a nice boy." She started pottering around the sink, washing dishes and so on. Ryoma just stared at her back. She couldn't be serious.

He shook his head and sipped slowly at his hot chocolate. "I suppose I could."

Rinko turned around with a smile on her face, which suddenly made Ryoma very, very afraid. She was brandishing a piece of cloth, kind of tied at the top, almost like a little bag. "When you see him, give him these," she said.

Ryoma took the little cloth bag from her, and there was no mistaking the smell. "Cookies? You want me to give him cookies."

"A little present for him." She looked at him as though it was entirely normal to give someone a random bag of cookies, which granted maybe it was, but not for him.

He pushed the bag back and forth across the table. Maybe his Mum knew a little more than he originally thought.

--

"I wasn't expecting you to call," Atobe said as he walked up to the bench, settling down next to Ryoma. He looked slightly amused, and was - once again - wrapped up warmly in co-ordinating colours.

Ryoma held out the bag for him. "Here. From my Mum."

Atobe looked amused as he took the bag, untying the top to find a little pile of cookies. "Oh, so I impressed her so much that she felt the need to give me a present?" He picked one of the cookies up, and snapped a bit off. "Don't I get a present from you, Echizen?"

"No," Ryoma replied, rubbing his hands together. He didn't know why he'd asked Atobe to meet him in the park. It was bloody freezing outside today.

Atobe chuckled and the next thing Ryoma knew his chin was being gripped, and his head manoeuvred so that it was tilting upwards. "Say ahhh." Atobe smirked. Ryoma knew that all he could do right then was comply, so with a light dusting of pink across his cheeks he did so. Atobe leant forward, and it was only then that Ryoma noticed the piece of cookie between his lips. Atobe slipped it into his mouth, brushing his tongue against Ryoma's, and then retreating, leaving a soft kiss against his lips.

Ryoma chewed at the cookie, which was in fact very yummy indeed. Not that he'd expected anything less, of course. "Idiot," he muttered, standing up.

"Your Mother is a wonderful cook. You shall have to give her my compliments and thanks." Atobe bit into another of the cookies, looking as though he was enjoying himself immensely.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell her," Ryoma said, sounding slightly distracted. He picked up some snow between his hands and made a ball. Atobe looked slightly worried for all of a second.

"You better not be planning to chuck that at me."

Ryoma dropped it to the ground, and started to roll it across it. "I'm not."

Atobe looked sort of perplexed, until the ball started getting bigger and bigger. Ryoma stopped when it was roughly up to the size of his waist, and then started on another ball. Atobe just watched in amusement, eating away at his cookies as Ryoma started building a snowman. Ryoma didn't even know why he was doing it, just that he had - on a whim - felt like doing so.

It was a rather small snowman, he thought, even when he put the head on top. But he couldn't seem to bring himself to care. He slowly scooped up some snow and used it to mould some bangs, and flicky bits of hair off the side. He picked up some rocks off the ground - after a little digging under the snow to find them, of course - and used them for eyes and a mouth. He made sure that the snowman was smirking because really, that was the thing to do. He packed a little bit more snow together to make a nose, and then took a few steps back to admire his handy work.

"That's not a very good representation of me, Echizen," Atobe said, coming up behind Ryoma to take a closer look.

"You recognised it, didn't you?" Ryoma tilted his head to the side, and then conceded. "You're right though, something is missing."

He knelt down beside the snowman, moulding some more snow to make a little crown. This, of course, amused Atobe enough to elicit a chuckle, but Ryoma wasn't finished yet. Two more, slightly larger mounds of snow followed, being made into large circular ears.

Ryoma stood, brushing the snow off his hands and knees. "Ta-da." He said.

Atobe gave an indignant huff, and crossed his arms over his chest. "That is not funny. Take the monkey ears off at once."

"No." Ryoma laughed and eyed the snowman, which now looked rather amusing. "Make me."

The next thing Ryoma knew, Atobe was running at him, and then suddenly there was just cold. Well, he hadn't been expecting that, he thought, as he burst into laughter. Atobe had just tackled him to the ground, and knocked the snowman down with them, shattering it back into powder.

They both lay on the floor for who knew how long, laughing themselves breathless, Atobe sprawled on top of him.

Ryoma loved the snow.


End file.
